23-year-old George Parker fatally shot in West Garfield Park; 'He was like a big brother to all the little kids,' friend says

David Struett — Tue, 12 Dec 2017 12:40:50 -0600

George Parker was found shot to death Monday afternoon in the West Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side.

"He was like a big brother to all the little kids that were around during the years he spent living on Constance Street," his old friend, Antionio Robinson, said.

George Parker | Facebook

Officers responded to a call of shots fired at 12:42 p.m. and found 23-year-old Parker lying on the ground in a vacant lot in the 300 block of South Keeler, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Parker, who lived in the same neighborhood, had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene at 12:59 p.m., authorities said.

"As his older brother, I watched him grow into a great man," Mylon Blackmore said. "He wasn’t perfect--no one is--but he never stopped trying to grow, trying to get to a point where he didn't have to worry about anything."

Parker kept the mood light and cheered people up when he could, according to Blackmore.

"He always knew what to say to keep us laughing," he said.

Additional details were not immediately available and no one was in custody Monday as Area North detectives conducted a homicide investigation.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

George Parker | Homicide Watch Chicago

23-year-old George Parker fatally shot in West Garfield Park; 'He was like a big brother to all the little kids,' friend says